John Key’s New Zealand.
People living in cars, garages, in cold mouldy houses and on the street.
Children go to school without food.
Our suicide rates, imprisonment rates, domestic abuse rates, obesity and levels of inequality soars.
Unemployment levels rise.
Debt levels keep climbing.
Housing both owned and rented becomes unaffordable to more and more people.
Meanwhile our corrupt and venal ruling class, led by an ex banker Key, takes the side of the global uber rich against the interests of NZ citizens.
What an ugly, selfish and cruel place we have become.
I don’t think Winz has Security guards at the door to keep people with weapons out. More likely the people trying to access all this HELP that Mr Key is confident that Winz is just waiting there to immediately assist. He would be “very surprised”!!! if Winz didn’t do this. I would be BLOODY AMAZED and SHOCKED! if they DID.
The Salvation Army and the Mangere Budgeting Service say the government can’t continue to ignore the growing numbers of people forced to live in cars, shipping containers and garages.
Of course it can. National have been ignoring poverty for decades now and haven’t lost a wink of sleep over it.
“People are sort of halving their garage and having one family on one side of the garage, and another family on the other. These are the sorts of situations that are now emerging in this housing crisis,” he said.
And probably charging a pretty penny for it as well.
Speaking to Morning Report today, Prime Minister John Key said it was not acceptable that people were living in cars or under bridges.
Mr Key said people in those circumstances should seek help from Work and Income.
He said he would be amazed if the agency left people living in cars, particularly if children were involved.
Says all the right words while putting in place policies that prevent that from actually happening.
Mr Key said the government was doing what it could to help people in housing difficulty…
Yeah, like kicking people off of benefits for no reason whatsoever.
Mr Key said the government’s approach, including encouraging community groups to provide housing, would help.
Well, I suppose that it will help a few rich people get richer. Won’t help the people actually in trouble though.
$1.2 billion of state money is apparently going to private landlords to house poor people in often poor housing. A lot of good quality state and public housing could be built or renovated with that money. With some firm regulations to keep rents down we could house everyone well again. This has happened in the past in NZ so could be done again.
I was appalled at Nick Smiths arrogance and denial on the weekend political shows. Especially so in light of the damning footage of people living in cars and the proliferation of families living in garages. The human cost especially for the kids brought up in those situations must be horrendous. Not the New Zealand I ever thought id see.
It seems his Namesake in Kaikoura is afflicted with a similar dose of arrogance.
“Smith said he had visited various social agencies around Blenheim but had not spent time at John’s Kitchen. He said he had a full diary and had no plans to visit the Blenheim social service.”
Just like Todd Barclay. Another arrogant and entitled Nat in a safe rural seat.
I see Winston is taking it to the Nats with a public meeting in Gore next week. I think they smell blood with Barclay. Maybe he should stop in at Kaikoura on the way home.
A 17 minute video which does a really good job of summing up what happening in USA. I’d suggest you skip across the clapping part at start and get into the real meat of the topic Abby Martin is talking about.
Like her observation that Bernie Sanders, for all the criticism that anyone may want to throw at him, has taken the essential message of Occupy: the sentiment the mainstream wanted to shut down and shut out – and he’s taken it right into the heart of the mainstream.
I have real problems with Sanders, but when Abby said that – I thought she is right. And I think the longer Sanders keeps in the race, the more the message will sink in.
17 more attack pieces on Sanders in the New York Journal last week. That is 16 more than against Trump. So he must be doing something right.
Is there a market in NZ for an Abby Martin or a Bernie Sanders? Andrew could maybe but where could he get a forum? TV? Radio? Newspaper? Live audience? With the News tied up by the Right and a well oiled machine to undermine alternative voices how can we get such a message as Abby’s out there? Oh Dear!
We have voices like Abby Martin. Did you forget you were commenting on an alternative news source ianmac.
The idea is not to despair. Indeed, voices are being heard. Ideas are out there. It’s not all about the labour party.
We have a voice, we only have this system, because we let it happen. And the more people react around the globe, slowly but surly people here will get the message too.
Because tax cut, and the free market are not delivering freedom and liberty for all.
Not sure what you mean by alternative news source though. We are interested so we click “play”, but can you imagine Puckish Rogue or Matthew Hooton clicking on?
You may have noticed I don’t read much NZ news, a few links from here. For me it’s the evening report, and scoop every-other day. I just don’t do the so call MSM or as I call them, the corporate media.
I read a lot of international news, and that take on NZ is rather different. Actually, I find it funny when I read the likes of Puckish and others, they have no idea what the rest of the world thinks. And seem to enjoy it that way.
I don’t care what Puckish or Hooten click or not. I’m more interested in a informed, engaged, hopeful, and democratic readership.
The point is that many of us on the “Left” are sympathetic to the urgency for a fair and inclusive society, but this does not reach the PRs or the Hootens. The Key believers who I know are allergic to any such talk. So the question is still how do we engage at least “middle” swinging voters?
“Prime Minister John Key has signalled National will campaign in 2017 on a $3 billion package of tax cuts.”
English says not likely. Key says yes.
See what they are doing? Testing the waters since tax cuts benefit mostly the rich, it may not be politic to actually deliver more tax cuts for the rich.
Yeah – I’ve just read that as well. Today’s Herald online. You think they”re testing the waters, ianmac ? Maybe they are.
Or maybe they’re preparing everyone for a big fudging of the country’s economy (ie hey we have a surplus, we can now give that away to our voters !) Whichever it is, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see some big pork barrel politics rolled out next year.
Yuk ! and it’ll be very grubby …….
I think Jenny, that previous tax cuts were seen as good for the rich and the Middle-poor saw it as pretty mean. So they are careful this time to make sure that it is their supporters who are happy. Litmus test?
I am attracted to the notion that the gov create money to say build state houses, and then use the income to help repay the notional debt.
Keeps the bankers out of the cycle too.
“A frantic backlash has followed a remark by London’s ex-mayor, Boris Johnson, who said modern EU bureaucracy pursues the same goals as previous European “integrators” Napoleon and Hitler did and thus creates a “massive democratic void.”…
At the moment, the cost of getting electricity from the source to the consumer is spread evenly….regardless of where you live.
This is about to change….
“Based on all the signals from the Electricity Authority to date, I am picking that the Transmission Pricing Methodology will go significantly towards a beneficiary-pays approach rather than a one-price-for-everyone that is in place at the moment,” he said.
“It is likely to produce much more efficient investments in transmission assets over time.”
In its proposal last June, the authority estimated some power bills would fall and some stay the same. However Auckland and Northland would pay 4.5 percent more and the Far North and the West Coast 10 percent more.”
OK…so power users are now “beneficiaries” and those “beneficiaries” living in two of the most economically challenged areas of New Zealand will be paying 10% more for transmission charges.
Consumers in the Far North already pay eye watering power bills…
Marlborough had its own dam to supply much of our electricity, but under the Bradford reforms small dams such as ours were instead given to the main grid. Our daily line charge is $1.99 per day or $61.69 per month. In the city I believe it is far less per day.
So I think the line charges will increase under the User Pays plan that the Electricity Authority is looking for. And those in the country at the end of a line will pay more. Great for Dairy farms?
Ouch dv. Recently I changed from my $1.99 per day to 33cents per day by signing up as a Low User. We pay more per Kw @ 33cents per kw. But as long as we stay under 8,000 kw per year we gain on the deal. ie 22kw per day is the break even point.
I read somewhere yesterday that a person working for a provider (Mercury?) was told to avoid offering Low User and try to divert customers onto different contract. Mmm.
Maybe that was because they are trying to protect people who sign up for the low rate getting pummeled when they go over the limit. It’s not going to be suitable for most customers with families.
User pays strikes again by pushing the price up. More profits for the already rich sourced from the most impoverished.
You’d almost think that the government was trying to push people out of those places by making it so that the people already there can’t afford to live there. Is this about cleaning out the impoverished from desirable areas to make way for the uber rich that NZs becoming a bolt-hole for?
It’s the opposite. It is passing costs on to those that are not located close to power sources. That should advantage many regional consumers and businesses who live close to power sources. This is good for most places except Auckland north. The west coast would be better off if they had managed to be allowed to build the hydro schemes they wanted
Wow. Do you actually read the tripe that you write?
Advantaging people who live closer to power supply than those that live further away pushes people who live further away to move closer thus causing those regional towns to close down, to become Zombie Towns.
Most of the so called zombie towns are closer to power supplies than Auckland . So cheaper power would (in theory) help make them more attractive and less zombie like.
You want to deny much of regional NZ the benefit of lower power costs by forcing them to pay the same as wealthy aucklanders
As it is if there’s any subsidies, and I doubt if there are, it will be from Auckland to the rest of the country. If this change goes ahead then there really will be subsidies – from the rest of the country to Auckland as the rest of the countries prices go up – especially those in poorer areas.
At a national level it really doesn’t cost any more to maintain the lines in Northland than in Auckland. Charging some areas more and some areas less isn’t about economics or incentives but about making more profit for the lines companies/generators.
At a national level it really doesn’t cost any more to maintain the lines in Northland than in Auckland.
Maybe not (although I suspect there’s more in the way of tree trimming and suchlike in rural areas, and farther travel times for the crews).
However, the cost of getting the power from the source to the local 240V area would vary wildly according to distance (both in maintenance and power loss), durability, and accessibility.
You’re wrong. We are talking about the relative cost of shifting power from a generator to a consumer. It is in fact a lot more expensive to build 100km of power line than it is to build 50km.
Auckland has no substantial power plants nearby except Huntley, which doesn’t run all the time and is reducing output. So Auckland’s power has to travel a lot further than say Dunedin’s. You also get greater line losses. Yet Dunedin power companies are basically charged the same per mw as Auckland power companies and for no other reason than it’s easier.
It is not in the interest of the lines companies to promote a distributed renewable generation model and they have by anti-competitive and pricing models held the inevitable move to such a system back for as long as they could . now the end game begins
It is in fact a lot more expensive to build 100km of power line than it is to build 50km.
Good job I didn’t say build then isn’t it.
Yet Dunedin power companies are basically charged the same per mw as Auckland power companies and for no other reason than it’s easier.
And fairer considering that we all paid to build the infrastructure equally.
Splitting things up like this actually breaks the economy and the scale that building nationally produces. That’s what we’ve been seeing for the last thirty years and why things keep getting more expensive.
You cant just maintain the grid you sometimes have to build new stuff. Just recently 470m was spent on new lines in auckland. Another billion was spent on lines to Auckland. All this gets paid for by consumers. Your method makes it much more expensive because there is no pressure to keep down costs. If aucklanders were faced with fully funding the infrastructure they benefit from, they might have gone for less costly options. Remember much of this new investment was the result of socialized transpowwer not actually maintaining the network adequately.
Yeah, but do you appreciate the factors involved – distance, voltage, conductor size, equipment sizing, selection and siting, workmanship, power factor, unbalanced/unequal phase/load distribution, leakage, overloading, abnormal operating conditions – and that’s only transmission.
And to my mind, a better system would be to require those that use over a standard amount – a higher usage charge.
I remember a few years ago, hearing that some households have a power bill of over $700/wk. This usage reflected the need to keep the pool heated, the landscaping lights on, the multiple power vampire appliances on standby.
At the time, a discussion was being had regarding the necessity to upgrade the power infrastructure. I thought then – and I still do – that charges (like taxes) should be progressive, if you are using significantly more than a standard amount for the number of people living in your household then you pay a higher usage charge.
Yep. Nationalised power generation and reticulation. Each household/business gets a set amount per month free (fully covered by taxes) which is enough to run a household on and after that they get charged and as they use more they get charged more per kilowatt.
This implements actual supply and demand. The people who demand more pay more. As it is we actually have it around the other way with those who demand more paying less per unit. This incentivises incredibly poor economics.
I think National are in deep trouble and are becomingly increasingly desperate.
Key’s “ejection” from debating chamber, Matt Hooton’s “deeply “sanitised column, and now “look here, tax cuts” are panic responses to the current mess.
NZers are not happy at links to corruption and the smirching of our country’s reputation. More principled conservatives are uneasy.
The TPP ram-it-through-as-quickly-as-possible approach is not going down well, the housing situation is beyond crisis and younger people are becoming more politised as they see their future being affected detrimentally by poor current political choices.
Parata’s school funding changes will probably initiate a revolt…all good!
Well it is possible that National are in deep trouble I don’t think they are, they certainly would have been had the Panama Papers come up with anything substantial but as it is its reinforced the notion that Labour are crying wolf and, surprisingly to my mind at least, that the Greens are more level headed of the opposition
I suspect that the worries you share are not shared with the voting public however as its my own opinion I may well be wrong so, unfortunately, we’ll just have to wait for the next opinion polls to come out
I think it’ll be bad news for Labour, minor negative news for National, good news for Winston First and minor positive news for the Greens in that whatever voted National loses will go to Winston and some of what Labour loses will go to the Greens
The first time the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was brought before Whanganui District Council, it sparked a walkout……..
The TPP will be back before council this month when the local authority will again be asked to consider the impact the 12-nation deal will have on its business.
TPPA Action Whanganui has made a submission to the annual plan, asking council to consider a range of areas it believes to be threatened by the agreement.
Among the action group’s concerns are the council’s ability to control water rights, to procure work from local businesses and its support of iwi rights.
“The demands of the TPP threaten all of the above and council needs to do its homework and plan to put measures in place, removing all present weaknesses around these matters before possible ratification of the TPP,” spokeswoman Denise Lockett said. She believed some council business would be undermined by the trade agreement and urged council to fight to retain its decision-making power.
According to the Director General of the UN office in Geneva, the number one reason people leave Syria is not to escape war, it’s to find educational opportunities for their vast numbers of children – well their solution is really simple: stop mindless shooting, build your own universities, and work hard to pay for them like we in the West do – simple really. Pretending to be refugees to come and mooch off people in the West is just not on. Thanks for finally telling us the truth Mr Moller! The people of the West don’t appreciate being lied to over and over again! http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/refugee-crisis-facts-un-michael-moller_uk_5734277ee4b01359f6866db0
Someone whos whole career is built on quack medicine ( unless he one of the few who do follow more mainstream ideas) will always pluck unsupported views out of the ether.
Its a common error to confuse weather with climate.
For Dunedin http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/dunedin
Monthy highest for April is 25 , historical average 24….. yyawn nothing to see but chooks flapping their wings who will never fly
Perhaps you could give the temperature data for your location to show the Dunedin numbers are against the trend.
NZ long term trend is 1C per century. Thats what its called baby, global warming.
So you arent with the medical community who believe most chiropractric is modern quackery ?
And mum or dad gets angry and mouthy under the pressure of it when they’re basically told to go away and come back in three weeks once they’ve seen the budgeter – for whom there’s actually a month long waiting list anyway.
“Oh well……trespass notice for you if you can’t behave !”
More in the narrative – “These people are scum who’ve done it to themselves !”
Theres room here for Labour, I need them to be the opposite of National before they get my vote, also imagine debating National on this with a Nat trying to justify homelessness. Like we saw with Key defending not paying tax (“if you are a Mexican worried about your countries inheritance laws”), they look weak & out of touch.
Why? Your post concerned climate change. I observed that Labour has nothing in the way of policy to deal with the issue. Is criticism of Labour fobidden on this site then?
[lprent: No – read the policy. Idiots who are just trolling lines written by a PR wanker and who don’t say anything worth reading are. If you’d have been serious then you would have pointed that out, and have been pointed to those really easy to google links like this page. It took me all of 10 seconds to find.
Banned for one week.
I figure that with your obviously piss-poor comprehension levels this will should hopefully be enough time to read the site policy. However if you get stuck on the big words – like policy and self-martyrdom, then I suggest you consult a dictionary. (Drat that may be beyond a trolls comprehension).
It is a book or a website that defines words.
Try this word as a test and clear description of you – “dickhead” ]
“You want a running mate who can take the fight to the other side with relish,” said a Clinton veteran. “Geography doesn’t matter, but attitude and talent and energy and bringing excitement to the campaign, Senator Warren does all that.”
In many ways, a Warren pick makes perfect sense. She’s widely respected and admired for her anti-Wall Street crusades, and she is already playing a lead role in the Democratic fight against Trump on social media. As a hero to many of the same people who currently support Clinton’s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, her presence in the Clinton campaign could help unite the party. And she would bring extra firepower to what is sure to be a brutal general election.
There’s just one problem: She’s a woman. Is a presidential ticket big enough for two of them?
For voters who are already uneasy about the prospect of a woman in the White House (hint: mostly white men), a Warren addition might be the final straw. They’d go Trump for good. But it seems unlikely that those who pine for the days of Mad Men were going to vote for Clinton anyway. And some argue that Clinton doesn’t really need more white men, as they’re a declining portion of the electorate.
“NASA has made its first ever observations from the heart of a ‘magnetic reconnection’ event thanks to its Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS).
The mission, consisting of four identical spacecraft, was launched in March 2015 to observe these reactions in the magnetosphere – scientists had previously only witnessed reconnection in the laboratory…
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Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
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This cartoon by Sharon Murdoch is brilliant and sums up the government’s attitude to New Zealand and the super rich.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CicjGnrU4AAp7t9.jpg:large
John Key’s New Zealand.
People living in cars, garages, in cold mouldy houses and on the street.
Children go to school without food.
Our suicide rates, imprisonment rates, domestic abuse rates, obesity and levels of inequality soars.
Unemployment levels rise.
Debt levels keep climbing.
Housing both owned and rented becomes unaffordable to more and more people.
Meanwhile our corrupt and venal ruling class, led by an ex banker Key, takes the side of the global uber rich against the interests of NZ citizens.
What an ugly, selfish and cruel place we have become.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/303946/auckland-housing-'we've-lost-the-plot‘
According to key on henry the cause of people living in cars is because we aren’t hard enough on moving people out of housing nz houses.
Ah, the merry go round approach. They’re using it for benefits and jobs so why not housing?
PM says, “contact Work and Income”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80013933/prime-minister-john-key-says-homeless-families-should-contact-work-and-income
A cynical response.
What a repulsive man.
I don’t think Winz has Security guards at the door to keep people with weapons out. More likely the people trying to access all this HELP that Mr Key is confident that Winz is just waiting there to immediately assist. He would be “very surprised”!!! if Winz didn’t do this. I would be BLOODY AMAZED and SHOCKED! if they DID.
+1
Yeah, I’d be very surprised if the homeless man had ID to get past the guard.
@Paul, Ugly Selfish & Cruel sums it up . I am reminded of NZ in the days of John A Lee as described in ‘Children of the Poor’ sad and disgusting.
Of course it can. National have been ignoring poverty for decades now and haven’t lost a wink of sleep over it.
And probably charging a pretty penny for it as well.
Says all the right words while putting in place policies that prevent that from actually happening.
Yeah, like kicking people off of benefits for no reason whatsoever.
Well, I suppose that it will help a few rich people get richer. Won’t help the people actually in trouble though.
$1.2 billion of state money is apparently going to private landlords to house poor people in often poor housing. A lot of good quality state and public housing could be built or renovated with that money. With some firm regulations to keep rents down we could house everyone well again. This has happened in the past in NZ so could be done again.
It is probably higher than that. Amounts over AS limits are picked up by TAS.
I was appalled at Nick Smiths arrogance and denial on the weekend political shows. Especially so in light of the damning footage of people living in cars and the proliferation of families living in garages. The human cost especially for the kids brought up in those situations must be horrendous. Not the New Zealand I ever thought id see.
It seems his Namesake in Kaikoura is afflicted with a similar dose of arrogance.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79943215/johns-kitchen-coordinator-janette-walker-labels-kaikoura-mp-stuart-smith-out-of-touch
No wonder he is too busy to attend to his constituents issues, he has been too busy spruiking baby formula for Chinese donors to the National Party.
Cowboy Agreed what a waste of space he is.
Crooked, amoral bastards !
(1) Deny, deny, deny the problem…..
(2) Belatedly acknowledge we’ve lost our way…..
(3) Declare that kids living in cars is not OK…..
(4) Mock-earnestly wank on about what must be done…..
(5) Borrow $3 billion for tax cuts to buy votes 2017…..
(6) 2018 – “What’s that you say, children living in cars ?”
From the top, altogether now, (1)…..(2)…..(3) etc etc etc.
Crooked, amoral bastards ! They simply do not care…..
Stuart Smith National MP……arrogant pig !
“Smith said he had visited various social agencies around Blenheim but had not spent time at John’s Kitchen. He said he had a full diary and had no plans to visit the Blenheim social service.”
Just like Todd Barclay. Another arrogant and entitled Nat in a safe rural seat.
I see Winston is taking it to the Nats with a public meeting in Gore next week. I think they smell blood with Barclay. Maybe he should stop in at Kaikoura on the way home.
Someone is making a bunch of money “decontaminating” state houses that’s for sure.
A 17 minute video which does a really good job of summing up what happening in USA. I’d suggest you skip across the clapping part at start and get into the real meat of the topic Abby Martin is talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbEUsFxcdpo
Like her observation that Bernie Sanders, for all the criticism that anyone may want to throw at him, has taken the essential message of Occupy: the sentiment the mainstream wanted to shut down and shut out – and he’s taken it right into the heart of the mainstream.
I think that’s true.
I have real problems with Sanders, but when Abby said that – I thought she is right. And I think the longer Sanders keeps in the race, the more the message will sink in.
17 more attack pieces on Sanders in the New York Journal last week. That is 16 more than against Trump. So he must be doing something right.
Is there a market in NZ for an Abby Martin or a Bernie Sanders? Andrew could maybe but where could he get a forum? TV? Radio? Newspaper? Live audience? With the News tied up by the Right and a well oiled machine to undermine alternative voices how can we get such a message as Abby’s out there? Oh Dear!
We have voices like Abby Martin. Did you forget you were commenting on an alternative news source ianmac.
The idea is not to despair. Indeed, voices are being heard. Ideas are out there. It’s not all about the labour party.
We have a voice, we only have this system, because we let it happen. And the more people react around the globe, slowly but surly people here will get the message too.
Because tax cut, and the free market are not delivering freedom and liberty for all.
Not sure what you mean by alternative news source though. We are interested so we click “play”, but can you imagine Puckish Rogue or Matthew Hooton clicking on?
You may have noticed I don’t read much NZ news, a few links from here. For me it’s the evening report, and scoop every-other day. I just don’t do the so call MSM or as I call them, the corporate media.
I read a lot of international news, and that take on NZ is rather different. Actually, I find it funny when I read the likes of Puckish and others, they have no idea what the rest of the world thinks. And seem to enjoy it that way.
I don’t care what Puckish or Hooten click or not. I’m more interested in a informed, engaged, hopeful, and democratic readership.
The point is that many of us on the “Left” are sympathetic to the urgency for a fair and inclusive society, but this does not reach the PRs or the Hootens. The Key believers who I know are allergic to any such talk. So the question is still how do we engage at least “middle” swinging voters?
“Prime Minister John Key has signalled National will campaign in 2017 on a $3 billion package of tax cuts.”
English says not likely. Key says yes.
See what they are doing? Testing the waters since tax cuts benefit mostly the rich, it may not be politic to actually deliver more tax cuts for the rich.
Yeah – I’ve just read that as well. Today’s Herald online. You think they”re testing the waters, ianmac ? Maybe they are.
Or maybe they’re preparing everyone for a big fudging of the country’s economy (ie hey we have a surplus, we can now give that away to our voters !) Whichever it is, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see some big pork barrel politics rolled out next year.
Yuk ! and it’ll be very grubby …….
So even less for the unemployed , abused women, mental health, schools, hospitals, the poor, the vulnerable……
Ugly, selfish, cruel.
2016 New Zealand.
+1
I think Jenny, that previous tax cuts were seen as good for the rich and the Middle-poor saw it as pretty mean. So they are careful this time to make sure that it is their supporters who are happy. Litmus test?
Mean while national debt
NZ$ 116,890,480,060
Interest
5,577,213,742 per year
And if the government simply created the money that it needs then that interest bill would disappear.
Yes.
I am attracted to the notion that the gov create money to say build state houses, and then use the income to help repay the notional debt.
Keeps the bankers out of the cycle too.
Worked well for the first Labour government.
Labour Social credit coalition.
Yes!!
Another distraction.
It will be if you vote for us deal just before the election their will be cuts to get more wait till after the election.
‘Boris Johnson likens EU drive for ‘superstate’ to Hitler’s, prompts shower of anger’
https://www.rt.com/uk/343090-johnson-eu-hitler-napoleon/
“A frantic backlash has followed a remark by London’s ex-mayor, Boris Johnson, who said modern EU bureaucracy pursues the same goals as previous European “integrators” Napoleon and Hitler did and thus creates a “massive democratic void.”…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/303970/electricity-industry-shake-up-on-the-cards
At the moment, the cost of getting electricity from the source to the consumer is spread evenly….regardless of where you live.
This is about to change….
“Based on all the signals from the Electricity Authority to date, I am picking that the Transmission Pricing Methodology will go significantly towards a beneficiary-pays approach rather than a one-price-for-everyone that is in place at the moment,” he said.
“It is likely to produce much more efficient investments in transmission assets over time.”
In its proposal last June, the authority estimated some power bills would fall and some stay the same. However Auckland and Northland would pay 4.5 percent more and the Far North and the West Coast 10 percent more.”
OK…so power users are now “beneficiaries” and those “beneficiaries” living in two of the most economically challenged areas of New Zealand will be paying 10% more for transmission charges.
Consumers in the Far North already pay eye watering power bills…
Marlborough had its own dam to supply much of our electricity, but under the Bradford reforms small dams such as ours were instead given to the main grid. Our daily line charge is $1.99 per day or $61.69 per month. In the city I believe it is far less per day.
So I think the line charges will increase under the User Pays plan that the Electricity Authority is looking for. And those in the country at the end of a line will pay more. Great for Dairy farms?
Our charge is $2.18 per day in city.
Ouch dv. Recently I changed from my $1.99 per day to 33cents per day by signing up as a Low User. We pay more per Kw @ 33cents per kw. But as long as we stay under 8,000 kw per year we gain on the deal. ie 22kw per day is the break even point.
I read somewhere yesterday that a person working for a provider (Mercury?) was told to avoid offering Low User and try to divert customers onto different contract. Mmm.
Damn I hadn’t noticed till I noticed!!!
Maybe that was because they are trying to protect people who sign up for the low rate getting pummeled when they go over the limit. It’s not going to be suitable for most customers with families.
User pays strikes again by pushing the price up. More profits for the already rich sourced from the most impoverished.
You’d almost think that the government was trying to push people out of those places by making it so that the people already there can’t afford to live there. Is this about cleaning out the impoverished from desirable areas to make way for the uber rich that NZs becoming a bolt-hole for?
Straight out of the “How To Make a Zombie Town” manual.
But the opportunity is there for those towns to get out of the system entirely, via schemes such as the Blueskin Power Co-operative.
It’s the opposite. It is passing costs on to those that are not located close to power sources. That should advantage many regional consumers and businesses who live close to power sources. This is good for most places except Auckland north. The west coast would be better off if they had managed to be allowed to build the hydro schemes they wanted
Wow. Do you actually read the tripe that you write?
Advantaging people who live closer to power supply than those that live further away pushes people who live further away to move closer thus causing those regional towns to close down, to become Zombie Towns.
Most of the so called zombie towns are closer to power supplies than Auckland . So cheaper power would (in theory) help make them more attractive and less zombie like.
You want to deny much of regional NZ the benefit of lower power costs by forcing them to pay the same as wealthy aucklanders
So you think that relatively rich Auckland should be subsidised by relatively poor Dunedin?
As it is if there’s any subsidies, and I doubt if there are, it will be from Auckland to the rest of the country. If this change goes ahead then there really will be subsidies – from the rest of the country to Auckland as the rest of the countries prices go up – especially those in poorer areas.
At a national level it really doesn’t cost any more to maintain the lines in Northland than in Auckland. Charging some areas more and some areas less isn’t about economics or incentives but about making more profit for the lines companies/generators.
Maybe not (although I suspect there’s more in the way of tree trimming and suchlike in rural areas, and farther travel times for the crews).
However, the cost of getting the power from the source to the local 240V area would vary wildly according to distance (both in maintenance and power loss), durability, and accessibility.
You’re wrong. We are talking about the relative cost of shifting power from a generator to a consumer. It is in fact a lot more expensive to build 100km of power line than it is to build 50km.
Auckland has no substantial power plants nearby except Huntley, which doesn’t run all the time and is reducing output. So Auckland’s power has to travel a lot further than say Dunedin’s. You also get greater line losses. Yet Dunedin power companies are basically charged the same per mw as Auckland power companies and for no other reason than it’s easier.
It is not in the interest of the lines companies to promote a distributed renewable generation model and they have by anti-competitive and pricing models held the inevitable move to such a system back for as long as they could . now the end game begins
Good job I didn’t say build then isn’t it.
And fairer considering that we all paid to build the infrastructure equally.
Splitting things up like this actually breaks the economy and the scale that building nationally produces. That’s what we’ve been seeing for the last thirty years and why things keep getting more expensive.
You cant just maintain the grid you sometimes have to build new stuff. Just recently 470m was spent on new lines in auckland. Another billion was spent on lines to Auckland. All this gets paid for by consumers. Your method makes it much more expensive because there is no pressure to keep down costs. If aucklanders were faced with fully funding the infrastructure they benefit from, they might have gone for less costly options. Remember much of this new investment was the result of socialized transpowwer not actually maintaining the network adequately.
Yeah, but do you appreciate the factors involved – distance, voltage, conductor size, equipment sizing, selection and siting, workmanship, power factor, unbalanced/unequal phase/load distribution, leakage, overloading, abnormal operating conditions – and that’s only transmission.
And to my mind, a better system would be to require those that use over a standard amount – a higher usage charge.
I remember a few years ago, hearing that some households have a power bill of over $700/wk. This usage reflected the need to keep the pool heated, the landscaping lights on, the multiple power vampire appliances on standby.
At the time, a discussion was being had regarding the necessity to upgrade the power infrastructure. I thought then – and I still do – that charges (like taxes) should be progressive, if you are using significantly more than a standard amount for the number of people living in your household then you pay a higher usage charge.
Yep. Nationalised power generation and reticulation. Each household/business gets a set amount per month free (fully covered by taxes) which is enough to run a household on and after that they get charged and as they use more they get charged more per kilowatt.
This implements actual supply and demand. The people who demand more pay more. As it is we actually have it around the other way with those who demand more paying less per unit. This incentivises incredibly poor economics.
I think National are in deep trouble and are becomingly increasingly desperate.
Key’s “ejection” from debating chamber, Matt Hooton’s “deeply “sanitised column, and now “look here, tax cuts” are panic responses to the current mess.
NZers are not happy at links to corruption and the smirching of our country’s reputation. More principled conservatives are uneasy.
The TPP ram-it-through-as-quickly-as-possible approach is not going down well, the housing situation is beyond crisis and younger people are becoming more politised as they see their future being affected detrimentally by poor current political choices.
Parata’s school funding changes will probably initiate a revolt…all good!
Well it is possible that National are in deep trouble I don’t think they are, they certainly would have been had the Panama Papers come up with anything substantial but as it is its reinforced the notion that Labour are crying wolf and, surprisingly to my mind at least, that the Greens are more level headed of the opposition
I suspect that the worries you share are not shared with the voting public however as its my own opinion I may well be wrong so, unfortunately, we’ll just have to wait for the next opinion polls to come out
I think it’ll be bad news for Labour, minor negative news for National, good news for Winston First and minor positive news for the Greens in that whatever voted National loses will go to Winston and some of what Labour loses will go to the Greens
+100 TMM…no matter what Hooton and jonkey’s Nact supporters spin….jonkey has been shown up !
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11639520
According to the Director General of the UN office in Geneva, the number one reason people leave Syria is not to escape war, it’s to find educational opportunities for their vast numbers of children – well their solution is really simple: stop mindless shooting, build your own universities, and work hard to pay for them like we in the West do – simple really. Pretending to be refugees to come and mooch off people in the West is just not on. Thanks for finally telling us the truth Mr Moller! The people of the West don’t appreciate being lied to over and over again!
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/refugee-crisis-facts-un-michael-moller_uk_5734277ee4b01359f6866db0
Any links to IPCC for that ?
“My guess is that we will hit 2 deg C by 2030.”
Surely it will all come right by vertebral subluxation or some such discovery
[Flaming and trolling. Shifting to Open Mike.] – Bill
You think that the IPPC knows what CV thinks? CV just posted his best guess based on being informed.
“Surely it will all come right by vertebral subluxation or some such discovery”
That’s out and out flaming. Reread the post and see if you still think picking a fight is appropriate.
Someone whos whole career is built on quack medicine ( unless he one of the few who do follow more mainstream ideas) will always pluck unsupported views out of the ether.
Its a common error to confuse weather with climate.
For Dunedin
http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/dunedin
Monthy highest for April is 25 , historical average 24….. yyawn nothing to see but chooks flapping their wings who will never fly
Troll. There’s probably a special name for denialist trolls, but I can’t be arsed with someone so blatantly stupid.
The name is definitely not “drolls” 🙂
Heh. I suppose it is a bit much to ask to be entertained while being trolled.
How about a trOllnialist 🙂
Perhaps you could give the temperature data for your location to show the Dunedin numbers are against the trend.
NZ long term trend is 1C per century. Thats what its called baby, global warming.
So you arent with the medical community who believe most chiropractric is modern quackery ?
Fuck off troll.
🙂
So you have better numbers than NIWA?
I leave it up to the experts
Little steps up….http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80013933/prime-minister-john-key-says-homeless-families-should-contact-work-and-income
“Labour leader Andrew Little: PM ‘out of touch’ with families in hardship”
If the comments section is anything to go by (and why not?) JK and Co are in deepest of smelly stuff…..
Tried to imagine a car family arriving at Work and Income asking for accommodation. Waiting list? Sorry. Can’t help.
And mum or dad gets angry and mouthy under the pressure of it when they’re basically told to go away and come back in three weeks once they’ve seen the budgeter – for whom there’s actually a month long waiting list anyway.
“Oh well……trespass notice for you if you can’t behave !”
More in the narrative – “These people are scum who’ve done it to themselves !”
Theres room here for Labour, I need them to be the opposite of National before they get my vote, also imagine debating National on this with a Nat trying to justify homelessness. Like we saw with Key defending not paying tax (“if you are a Mexican worried about your countries inheritance laws”), they look weak & out of touch.
https://imperatorfish.com/2016/05/10/a-brief-history-of-the-labour-party/
For those that have a sense of humour click on the link, I’m sure its not completely serious
Just as well Labour’s got such progressive policies to deal with climate change then, isn’t it?
[Shoddy attempt to derail. Shifted to Open Mike] – Bill
The RWNJs have obviously had their C/T lines handed to them.
Why? Your post concerned climate change. I observed that Labour has nothing in the way of policy to deal with the issue. Is criticism of Labour fobidden on this site then?
[lprent: No – read the policy. Idiots who are just trolling lines written by a PR wanker and who don’t say anything worth reading are. If you’d have been serious then you would have pointed that out, and have been pointed to those really easy to google links like this page. It took me all of 10 seconds to find.
Banned for one week.
I figure that with your obviously piss-poor comprehension levels this will should hopefully be enough time to read the site policy. However if you get stuck on the big words – like policy and self-martyrdom, then I suggest you consult a dictionary. (Drat that may be beyond a trolls comprehension).
It is a book or a website that defines words.
Try this word as a test and clear description of you – “dickhead” ]
Warren on the ticket and Trump really will get his hate on.
“You want a running mate who can take the fight to the other side with relish,” said a Clinton veteran. “Geography doesn’t matter, but attitude and talent and energy and bringing excitement to the campaign, Senator Warren does all that.”
In many ways, a Warren pick makes perfect sense. She’s widely respected and admired for her anti-Wall Street crusades, and she is already playing a lead role in the Democratic fight against Trump on social media. As a hero to many of the same people who currently support Clinton’s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, her presence in the Clinton campaign could help unite the party. And she would bring extra firepower to what is sure to be a brutal general election.
There’s just one problem: She’s a woman. Is a presidential ticket big enough for two of them?
For voters who are already uneasy about the prospect of a woman in the White House (hint: mostly white men), a Warren addition might be the final straw. They’d go Trump for good. But it seems unlikely that those who pine for the days of Mad Men were going to vote for Clinton anyway. And some argue that Clinton doesn’t really need more white men, as they’re a declining portion of the electorate.
http://qz.com/684589/in-an-election-dominated-by-misogyny-a-clinton-warren-ticket-might-just-work/
A good pick but unlikely.
Democrats have their minimum core 18 states, which they have won every election since 1992, with 242 electoral votes
They just need an extra one or two like Florida , and 28 EVs, to win the Presidency,
Logic says a figire who can bring a state like Florida or another region has best chance of being VP pick
So did they really land an American man on the moon or not?…imo NOT! ( the biggest USA porky of all time?)
‘Invisible maelstrom: NASA flies spacecraft through magnetic explosions above Earth (VIDEO)’
https://www.rt.com/viral/343121-nasa-magnetic-explosions-spacecraft/
“NASA has made its first ever observations from the heart of a ‘magnetic reconnection’ event thanks to its Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS).
The mission, consisting of four identical spacecraft, was launched in March 2015 to observe these reactions in the magnetosphere – scientists had previously only witnessed reconnection in the laboratory…